4. Back in 1993, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people lived under dramatically different circumstances.

Photo by Aryeh Rabinovich/AFP/Getty Images.

5. The HIV/AIDS epidemic was still raging at crisis levels in the early 1990s.

The spread of HIV/AIDS still is, without a doubt, a major health concern in the U.S. today, particularly for certain sub-populations. But at the time these photos were taken — before many medical advances allowed for HIV-positive people to live longer, healthier lives — overall mortality rates were still rising at an alarming speed. They finally began dropping in 1995.

Marlin Hofer and David Briley, the two men in the foreground, were both affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. When this photo was taken, Hofer was HIV-positive and Briley was living with AIDS. Photo by Wilfredo Lee/AP.

8. These were the days before "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," when an ever harsher ban was in place.

Before "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was passed in 1994 — technically allowing LGBTQ members to serve as long as they did so entirely in the closet — a more explicitly homophobic ban barred all LGBTQ people from serving regardless of their status as being out or not.

9. Let's not sugarcoat it; "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was still blatantly homophobic. But its passing did loosen certain restrictions.

These marchers helped push progress forward so that we could eventually be where we're at today. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was effectively repealed in 2011, and today, LGBTQ people can serve openly in our armed forces.

Photo by Mark Wilson/AP.

10. The marchers of 1993 also had other key demands in mind, like better inclusion of LGBTQ people and history in our education systems.

Shouldn't students learn about historical figures like Harvey Milk and Marsha P. Johnson just like they learn about Abraham Lincoln or Martin Luther King Jr.?

These marchers thought so.

It's been a long time coming, but we're starting to see signs of progress here too. In 2016, California became the first state to require LGBTQ history curriculums in its public schools — a move that may be sparking a new nationwide fight for better queer representation in classrooms, according to Vice.

Marriage equality was a long way from being a mainstream topic in 1993, believe it or not. But these marchers were fighting for issues like same-sex adoptions and fairer custody laws long before they had widespread support in the U.S.

We now have national marriage equality and same-sex adoption from coast to coast, and studies show that kids raised by same-sex or same-gender parents grow up just as well adjusted as their peers raised by straight, cisgender parents.

13. In so many ways, those marchers in Washington helped pave the way for much of the progress we can now celebrate.

They certainly weren't the first pioneers of the modern LGBTQ rights movement — the Stonewall rioters can wear that badge proudly — but history will look at the 1993 march as a pivotal moment for LGBTQ equality in America.

With a new administration in place threatening to strip away LGBTQ rights, every LGBTQ person and ally should be ready to fight like hell.

The Trump administration has already loosened protections for transgender kids in schools across the country.

Vice President Mike Pence — one the most anti-LGBTQ politicians in the U.S. and who is sitting atop arguably the most homophobic and transphobic party platform ever in existence — has supported conversion therapy for children, legalized the discrimination of queer business patrons, and allowed an HIV outbreak to fester during his time as the governor of Indiana.

4. Back in 1993, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people lived under dramatically different circumstances.

Photo by Aryeh Rabinovich/AFP/Getty Images.

5. The HIV/AIDS epidemic was still raging at crisis levels in the early 1990s.

The spread of HIV/AIDS still is, without a doubt, a major health concern in the U.S. today, particularly for certain sub-populations. But at the time these photos were taken — before many medical advances allowed for HIV-positive people to live longer, healthier lives — overall mortality rates were still rising at an alarming speed. They finally began dropping in 1995.

Marlin Hofer and David Briley, the two men in the foreground, were both affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. When this photo was taken, Hofer was HIV-positive and Briley was living with AIDS. Photo by Wilfredo Lee/AP.

8. These were the days before "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," when an ever harsher ban was in place.

Before "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was passed in 1994 — technically allowing LGBTQ members to serve as long as they did so entirely in the closet — a more explicitly homophobic ban barred all LGBTQ people from serving regardless of their status as being out or not.

9. Let's not sugarcoat it; "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was still blatantly homophobic. But its passing did loosen certain restrictions.

These marchers helped push progress forward so that we could eventually be where we're at today. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was effectively repealed in 2011, and today, LGBTQ people can serve openly in our armed forces.

Photo by Mark Wilson/AP.

10. The marchers of 1993 also had other key demands in mind, like better inclusion of LGBTQ people and history in our education systems.

Shouldn't students learn about historical figures like Harvey Milk and Marsha P. Johnson just like they learn about Abraham Lincoln or Martin Luther King Jr.?

These marchers thought so.

It's been a long time coming, but we're starting to see signs of progress here too. In 2016, California became the first state to require LGBTQ history curriculums in its public schools — a move that may be sparking a new nationwide fight for better queer representation in classrooms, according to Vice.

Marriage equality was a long way from being a mainstream topic in 1993, believe it or not. But these marchers were fighting for issues like same-sex adoptions and fairer custody laws long before they had widespread support in the U.S.

We now have national marriage equality and same-sex adoption from coast to coast, and studies show that kids raised by same-sex or same-gender parents grow up just as well adjusted as their peers raised by straight, cisgender parents.

13. In so many ways, those marchers in Washington helped pave the way for much of the progress we can now celebrate.

They certainly weren't the first pioneers of the modern LGBTQ rights movement — the Stonewall rioters can wear that badge proudly — but history will look at the 1993 march as a pivotal moment for LGBTQ equality in America.

With a new administration in place threatening to strip away LGBTQ rights, every LGBTQ person and ally should be ready to fight like hell.

The Trump administration has already loosened protections for transgender kids in schools across the country.

Vice President Mike Pence — one the most anti-LGBTQ politicians in the U.S. and who is sitting atop arguably the most homophobic and transphobic party platform ever in existence — has supported conversion therapy for children, legalized the discrimination of queer business patrons, and allowed an HIV outbreak to fester during his time as the governor of Indiana.